Read More

“He was very gentle,” lifelong friend Gareth Jones said. “He never complained about his own problems.

“If this were a film you’d say it was far-fetched. Even when he was seriously ill in hospital he would make the nurses laugh.

“It was a real struggle, but when we spoke he would always say, ‘Oh yes, I’m not feeling great, but anyway how are you? What’s going on in your life?’ He never wanted to be a burden and was always more concerned about others than himself.”

Iain Bell (left) with friends Dan and Gareth

Katy, who was paralysed and bed-ridden from a young age, was Iain’s reason for living, his friends say.

“Iain was absolutely destroyed by losing Katy,” Gareth said. “It was almost too much to cope with."

Friends rallied to lift Iain’s spirits and he became determined to beat the cancer – going through three gruelling rounds of chemotherapy.

“Some of his friends lived far away, but through emails, texts and videos, people tried to keep his spirits up.”

On September 27, Gareth got the call we had been dreading, Derriford Hospital staff rang Gareth as Iain’s next of kin to say Iain was gravely ill.